Violence in Video Games-Violence in Real Life

  A couple of days ago a news story dropped about an 8 year old boy shooting his grandmother in Slaughter, Louisiana. Since this story has been the subject of much debate around the internet, mostly about the fact that the child had been playing Grand Theft Auto IV. This debate has been raging on pretty much since the Columbine massacre, and has show no clear signs of stopping anytime soon. However, debates like this have been raging practically since entertainment, and media began. First they blamed the books for being too corruptible, then they blamed movies for being too gory and violent, and now it's video games. It seems that as much as this cycle shifts, many seem to not notice the pattern here, but I digress.

Believe me, Morpheus, I've tried. 

  In this blog I want to try to dissect, and  cover the difference between real life violence, and violence in a video game. Before I start, I know that some people that an 8 year old child may be too impressionable to differentiate between real life, and fantasy. I agree wholeheartedly. That's why there's an ESRB rating system. Games that are rated "M" are meant for teenagers, and adults 17 years or older. Also, some consideration should be given to the fact that this child had fairly easy access to a loaded firearm. I think that detail deserves as much attention, if not more, as the child playing an M rated game. 

  Violence generated in a video game universe is usually generated as a goal. There are NPCs in the game, usually blocking an objective, that want to kill the player, and player needs to kill them first to reach your objective. This structure has existed since the 8-bit era. It didn't really become a problem until the Columbine massacre. Eric Harris, and Dylan Klebold were said to have been huge fans of the video game Doom, and some media outlets stated that Eric Harris had modified levels to resemble the layout of Columbine high school. These claims have since been dismissed as unsustainable rumors. 

 Typically, people who have a fondness of violent video games are not violent individuals. I know this seems a bit skewed given the surge of death threats sent from gamers, but those people are just a small minority in the world of gamers. Most gamers that play violent video games do so as an outlet for anger, stress, etc. Or just to have fun. Most folks that play violent video games have a firm grasp of reality, and cause and effect. I, myself, have played many violent video games, and have rarely reacted with violence. Seriously, the only fight I've ever been in (that wasn't sanctioned) was in middle school. 

He made fun of my slap bracelet. No one makes fun of my slap bracelet. 

  Now, lets look at some cases of violence in real life. Violence is acted out for many different reasons, but let's focus on the particular story that spun this blog. In this case, we're dealing with a child. Children don't have that strong of a grasp on actions, and consequences. Hell, they barely have a firm grasp on spoken language. So, it could be argued that this child had no business playing an M rated game, which I agree with. It could also be argued that the person whom the child was placed in the care of should not have had a loaded firearm within arms length, or within view of the child. To me, the latter would be a stronger argument. 

  This whole "video games cause violence" debate, in every case I've seen it, is just a scape goat to cover up the more pressing issues at hand, and to shift the responsibility from those who should be held responsible. I don't know this child's story, nor do I know his parent's, and/or guardian's. What I do know is that having loaded weapons anywhere within a child's ability to acquire them. That goes along the same principle as covering electrical outlets, and putting away cutlery to keep children from harming themselves. I'm not an advocate for gun control, but I do like to press the importance of common sense, and better judgement when I can. 

  That will do me for this blog. I want to thank everyone who reads this, as well as my other blogs (90% of which are friends and family), and thank you all for listening. 

What Makes Us Rage?

  I was reserving this blog for Part 2 of my Feminism in Gaming blog, but I honestly didn't feel it deserved another blog. I pretty much said all I had to say in my last entry. Instead I am going to talk about a subject that I've covered here, and there, but never really tackled head on. Anger in the gaming community. I know I've covered trash talk, hate speech, misogyny, and other topics here before. But I've never actually touched on the subject, or source rather, of anger.

  Oh, before I begin, I got an email from someone reading my blog (at least I assume they were) telling me my blog was set so that only Google+ members could comment. Sorry about that, guys. I thought the default setting automatically allowed for anonymous comments. My bad. I've fixed it now. So...there's that.

  Now, onto the subject at hand. What causes anger? There are many theories on this, and I really don't have the time to get into them all. So, I will just give my own interpretation of the emotion. To be perfectly blunt, anger comes with being human. Anger is a response of our own fight or flight mechanisms. When something, or someone may threaten us, our ideals, or our personal security we lash out in anger. I live in the American South. I see this all the time.

  I know I use cognitive dissonance here a lot, but it really is the best term when analyzing an emotion such as anger. See, our brains have sort of formed the mechanics of cognitive dissonance to survive. In our early years, as a species, on this planet we had to rely on two things: our ability to work as a group, and our wit over potential predators, and other forms of danger. In regards to something that is unknown it's better to assume it is going to harm you and guard yourself from it, or attack it than to be proven wrong and...well...dead. This worked great for human beings when braving the harsh world, and all it's perils. However, human beings are no longer fighting for survival, and this system really has little benefits outside of that scenario.

  How does this tie into the gamer community? I'll get to that shortly.

  I've noticed one thing that will completely envelope gamers into a nerd rage of almost cosmic proportions. That would be breaking the gamer code of conduct (there really isn't a word for this little niche...I just made that up). See, game developers are the ones that set the fundamental rules and mechanics of the game, but the gamers that play them develop their own system of what is acceptable behavior and what is not based on exploited mechanics within certain games. The obvious unacceptable activities are camping, spawn killing, etc, but they change from genre to genre.

  However, I have noticed that just the simple act of breaking one of these unspoken rules is enough to send some players spiraling into an inescapable fit of rage; regardless of whether it was actually beneficial, or harmful to the person responsible for the offense. This is where cognitive dissonance comes into play. It isn't the consequences of the action that actually incites rage as it is the simple act of it. The brain has already told the person that someone has violated a particular accepted norm, and has targeted them as a threat; whether they are, or are not. That's one of the many ways our brain will fuck with us.

There's that, too. 

 

  My advice to anyone dealing with this type of rage is simply calm down, and rationally ask the person to stop doing whatever they are doing. A well thought out request usually yields better results than just blindly yelling derogatory epithets and insults. If they ignore you and continue there are usually options in games to vote for a player to be booted from the game. If it's pissing you off odds are it's pissing everyone else off as well, and is going to replace the fun you were having with contempt. If neither of those work just leave the lobby, session, etc. It's far better to just walk away from the situation than to dig the hole even deeper.

 

  That's all for this blog, but I have so much more to say on this subject. So, keep an eye out for future blogs, and thanks for listening (or reading...whatever). 

  

Feminism & Gaming

  I was planning on writing a blog on this topic a while back, but was put off just by the general amount of heat surrounding it. Now that the fires have died down a bit I will attempt to give my perspective on the issue. Before we begin allow me to say that this is my opinion. I do not claim fact in any of the claims I am about the issue because...well...it's a fucking opinion. Odds are, my views will not align completely with anyone's reading this. Now that's out of the way, let us begin.

    On May 17, 2012, a feminist by the name Anita Sarkeesian began a Kickstarter campaign to fund a new series of short videos that would examine gender tropes in video games. The campaign was featured as a campaign of note on the official Kickstarter blog. After her campaign reached over $6,000 in less than 24 hours she began to get a lot of attention, and not all good either. Following Anita's Kickstarter campaign were mountains of not only verbal abuse, but physical threats generated toward Anita on a systematic basis. The least of this were photos emailed to Anita depicting her being raped by various video game characters, and the worst being threatened with having her personal information (phone number, address, etc) leaked to the public. Pretty much every misogynistic act ever deemed possible by man was displayed over a period of months before the release of her videos. 

  I'm going to get to her videos later. Don't worry your pretty little heads. Right now I want to focus on something else. Now, this little jewel of human behavior isn't only displayed in scenarios like Anita Sakeesian's, but this is a good reference point. I have seen it multiple times throughout my life, and the method has pretty much remained unchanged. I am speaking, of course, of hysteria. More specifically, hysteria mixed with anger.

  I am, in no way, and advocate for feminists, nor do I really oppose them. I have spoken against radical feminists in the past, but that's different. Radical feminists are like the fanatics of feminism. In my opinion, if you have to shout angrily to get a point across then the point wasn't really that valid to begin with, but I digress. In every debate I've had with a "radfem" I've always remained calm, and evaluated their argument. Why? Because if they start acting hysterical then I look like the more rational adult of the conversation.

  Anita Sarkeesian is not a radical feminist. She's just a feminist who wanted some capitol for a project she was doing. That's what every person of any group that has ever wanted to do a project on anything does. This isn't anything new. That's why it's hard to wrap my brain around why the multitudes reacted the way they did. She wasn't wanting to advocate any specific developer, and/or publisher to be shut down. She just wanted to get a point across. She wasn't going to attack anyone. She just wanted to point out, and bring to light common tropes in all of entertainment, really. So why all the hostility?

  I have been wrapping my mind around this all morning, and have tried to understand it. I think it has to do with two main facets of gaming, and human nature altogether. The first being that, as I've stated before, gamers are very passionate people. Also, we're used to having to defend our hobby on numerous occasions. Many gamers also relate, and fully identify with the games they play. So, anything that challenges our favorite past time is immediately viewed as a threat. Our survival instincts tell us that a threat needs to be eliminated, while the rational side of our brain sees no actual threat present. This creates cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance causes people to say, and do all sorts of crazy shit.

  The second thing I've attributed this to is the common misconception that all feminists hate men. Years of this idea has taught us that anything a feminists says, or does is automatically against men; which is not always the case. Just an example; many years ago I worked as a gas station cook. I made pizza, hot wings, just general gas station food. Me, and my manager became friends over the time I worked there. One day we were talking, and she mentioned that at the beginning of me being hired she had to fight tooth, and nail to keep me employed. She explained that some of the locals had been calling, and wanted me fired because they felt a woman should be in the kitchen, and not a man. Many of the causes feminists oppose effect both genders.

  Neither of those points, however, explain why this situation escalated so horribly so quickly, but they may provide some clues. Now, it should be noted that there is nothing wrong with immersing yourself with your video games. That's part of the enjoyment a gamer gets from their games. But immersion unchecked can cause one to lose touch with reality. That is a problem.

  Threatening someone with physical harm, for any reason, is against the law in most countries; including the US. The risk, and reward for threatening to murder, rape, etc Anita Sarkeesian for wanting to publish an opinion doesn't really equal out. There really was no reward, and the risk was possible jail time. Just ask Justin Carter (whose arrest I do not agree with at all, and may cover it in a future blog). So why do it? The only logical answer I could come to was a complete detachment from reality. Even if momentarily, these people did not contemplate the consequences of threatening someone in the most traceable way possible.

  Why am I dwelling on this? Well, the people responsible for those threats represent us gamers as a whole. They are the reason any politician that lobbies against video games ever has an argument. Inadvertently, their behavior is one of the reasons that video games, as a medium, are constantly being attacked, and defended. People like that are the reason that misogyny in the gaming community is still a hot-button issue.

  So, I'm sure the readers out there are wondering what I thought of Anita Sarkeesian's videos. Well, I can't say that I did agree with her. She made a few valid points, but it all pretty much revolved around an archaic trope that she generalized to death. I plan on speaking more about them in my next blog. So, keep a look out for that.  

Are The Next Gen Consoles Necessary?

  A conversation I was having with some friends of mine at work last night sparked a nagging question for me. See, I had let a friend of mine borrow my copy of The Last of Us to try out before he bought it. We were basically geeking out about how great of a game it was, and the great cinematic qualities of it. How it flowed seamlessly between gameplay, and cut scenes, etc, etc. Talking about this posed a question from him. He basically asked if a game as great in gameplay quality, and graphics is possible on the PS3 then why bother releasing a new console.

  I know the parties made their cases for their new consoles, but all they really covered were a bunch of specs, and adding the ability to share gameplay on social media sites. Both of those points are kind of redundant, and I'm going to spend a majority of this blog explaining why. Before anyone unleashes the fanboy/girl rage on me, just hear me out. Also, I've noticed the illustrious PC master race jumping in on this argument quite a bit. This blog isn't for anyone who plays PC games. I actually have a lot to say about PC gaming, and will cover that in another blog.

  Specs for consoles have never really reflected sales, or fan appreciation of consoles. Penny Arcade's Extra Credits actually illustrated this point quite well, and I will have a video embedded below this paragraph. Simply put, if specs sold the console then Atari should reign supreme over all console industries after their release of the Atari Jaguar. Hell, their whole ad campaign was centered around their graphics processor, with their famous slogan "Do the math".

  How did the Jaguar do? Horribly. The Atari Jaguar was a commercial, and business failure that nearly wiped Atari out single handedly. Why was this? I could literally fill an entire blog with all the reasons the Jaguar failed, but it was mostly due to the fact that a majority of their games did not match with what Atari boasted about their console's processing power. This due in part of developers not really knowing what to do with it, and the fact that their deadlines were far too strenuous to toy around with it's full potential. 

  Now, what does that have to do with the release of the next generation of consoles? Everything! After watching the video I embedded earlier, it appears that this is a recurring theme in console history. Specs do not make a console...well...not completely anyway. What makes a console is the experience it offers the player. If the specs don't hold up to that then it's just wasted effort. 

 

This was pretty much the fate of the Atari Jaguar. 

 

  To the next point. The whole social media options offered by both Sony, and Microsoft. Both companies claim their new consoles will allow players to livestream, and upload gameplay, and pics from their consoles. On the surface this sounds great. However, after you take into account the price of both consoles (aside from the fee required for online multiplayer) it would probably be cheaper to buy hardware for your current gen console that allows for the same thing. 

  Now that we've ruled out those two arguments, let us examine the initial question. Is a new console necessary? Well, I think it all depends on what you want from your console. If graphics are what you're looking at then probably not. I know the next gen processors are more powerful than the current gen, but all that really means is that small bugs in texture pop-ins, and such won't be that much of a problem. 

  Adam Sessler of Rev3Games made a valid point regarding loading screens. Hopefully in this generation of consoles we'll see fewer, if any, loading screens. That would be a great change in the overall gameplay experience. 

  Truthfully, we won't know the need, if any, for a new console until about a couple years after they release. That's usually when a console really starts to shine. After developers have had time to work with them, and figure out all they're actually capable of accomplishing on them. Usually the games that come from a console's initial launch don't look like that vast of an improvement from the previous generation. 

  I know those of you who know me know that I've already pre-ordered one of the consoles (not saying which...don't want to get roped into the whole console wars thing), and that I plan on purchasing the other very soon. That is because, outside of this blog that I do, I do some freelance writing for gaming e-zines, and that I do review games from time to time. My passion requires that I own at least one, if not both, of the new consoles. The main reason I work a full time job, outside of living expenses, is to provide capitol for all this. 

  Also I'm not going into the whole "games are going all digital soon" thing here. I'll save that for another blog. The whole purpose of this blog was to try to resolve a question that has been plaguing me, as well as others, regarding the new generation of consoles. In short, I don't know what will come of the new consoles. No one really does. As always, we'll just have to wait and see. Thank you all for indulging me, and happy gaming everyone.

Top Ten Movie Based Games

  Hollywood has a bad reputation of putting out terrible movies based on video games, but even worse video games have been based on movies. Hell, E.T. for the Atari is rumored to have caused the video game crash of 1983 (even though it totally didn't). However, if you look through the shit long enough you'll find some roses. There's a couple rules I have for this list. As always these are games I've played. So, don't freak out if you don't see your favorite on it. Also, I'm limiting this list to one movie franchise per entry. Hell, I could fill this list with Star Wars titles alone. So, I present to you BS' Top Ten Movie Based Games.

Honorable Mention- Jurassic Park: Trespasser 

 

  I once stated that Jurassic Park: Trespasser was one of the worst games ever made. I still stand by that statement. Aside from the fact that you needed state-of-the art hardware just to run the damn game, the lucky few that actually got to play it were welcomed with physics, and graphics that were so under developed that it was nearly unplayable.  

  So, why is this game on the list? Well, Jurassic Park: Trespasser is widely accepted as the forefather of rag-doll physics, and for that it makes my list of favorite movie based games. Rag-doll physics are used in practically every modern game produced from FPS, to RPG, and especially open world sandbox type games. 

  Just because Trespasser was bad, however, doesn't mean there weren't any good Jurassic Park games made... 


10) Lost World: Jurassic Park (Arcade) 

  I would like to detour, for a moment, from the argument that most movie based games differ too much from the source material. If playing a game based on a movie/book about bringing dinosaurs back to life would you rather explore the implications of reviving ancient, hostile creatures into a modern landscape, or would you rather shoot some dinosaurs in the goddamned face?! That's were The Lost World: Jurassic Park got it right. 

  Developed by Sega, and released in arcades in 1997, The Lost World: Jurassic Park is one of the reasons I learned the technique of rolling quarters. This games holds some of my fondest memories from the arcade.  

  There was some sort of story behind it all, but I never payed a lot of attention to it. For the most part, I just wanted to murder already extinct animals. 

9) Peter Jackson's King Kong (Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube) 

  For the record, I absolutely hate this movie. Peter Jackson's King Kong has to be the single most disappointing experience since my first sexual encounter (all 2 minutes and 30 seconds of it). I remember wanting to find Peter Jackson, and beat him in the dick with a piece of rebar for even thinking this was a good idea. The game, however, was pretty damn great.

  Developed by Ubisoft, and released on multiple platforms in 2005, Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (and that's the last time I type all of that out) interchanges roles between New York script writer Jack Driscoll, and the mighty gorilla Kong during their stay on the dangerous Skull Island. Playing as Driscoll put survival above all. Playing in a first person perspactive setting fires, and using insects impaled on sticks, were just a couple of the various ways to lure looming threats away from you. 

  In the role of Kong strength rules above all. In third person view you had to battle your way through dense jungles, countless creatures, and occassional bosses to get Kong's prize, Ann Darrow, to safety. There was a bit after that where you played as Kong in New York City, but compared to the rest of the game it felt a bit watered down. 

8) T2: The Arcade Game (Arcade)

   Developed by Midway, and released in arcades in 1991, T2: The Arcade Game took the coolest part of Terminator (the scene that took place in the year 2029), and made an entire game about it! The player takes control of a T-800 model Terminator that has been reprogrammed by the Human Resistance. The whole game consists of mowing down T-800, and T-1000 model Terminators in the year 2029. That's really all I can say about it. But honestly, do I need to say more? 


7) Spiderman 2 (Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube, PC) 

  I know, I know. Spiderman games that aren't based on the movies get a bad rap as is. The games based on the Sam Raimi pictures must suck even more, right? Well, not necessarily. 

  Developed by Treyarch, and released on multiple platforms in 2004, Spiderman 2 was an amazing underdog title. Featuring the vast, open world enviroment of New York City at your disposal, a fluid battle mechanic, and a myriad of villains from the Spiderman universe gave this game hours of fun to be had. Hell, I hold Spiderman 2: The Game in way higher regards than the actual movie it was based on. 

6) X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Playstation 2/3, Wii, Xbox 360, PC) 

  X-Men Origins: Wolverine is another example of a game that outshines the movie it was based on by leaps and bounds. I could dedicate an entire blog to the reasons I hate that damn movie. I could fill a series of blogs on the ways they completely hate fucked the character of Deadpool. But enough of my hatred of Marvel Entertainment for now. Back to the game. 

  Developed by Raven Software, and released on multiple platforms in 2009, X-Men Origins: Wolverine had everything the movie should have had. Namely, Wolverine slashing baddies to ribbons with his adamantium claws, and using environmental weapons in some of the most graphic ways I could ever imagine. 

Tell me you didn't get even the slightest bit aroused after that. 

 

  I know I may be viewed as a simple minded, knuckle dragging neanderthal for loving this game, and I don't care. X-Men Origins: Wolverine grabs you by the balls (even if you don't have balls), and slams you against the wall until you scream uncle. In a good way, though. 

 

 

5) The Matrix: Path of Neo (Playstation 2, Xbox, PC) 

 

  Ok, so here's a little confession. I absolutely love The Matrix. Like all the movies. Even The Animatrix. I even played that MMO they tried to make. So, when I heard they were making a game where you got to play as Neo throughout the three films I nearly shit my pants with nerdy excitement. 

  Developed by Shiny Entertainment, and released on multiple platforms in 2005, The Matrix: Path of Neo placed the player in the role of series protagonist Thomas Anderson, aka Neo, as he battled through key plot points of The Matrix series. The scenes featured in the game were hand picked by the Wachowski brothers themselves, and some were altered for the sake of the video game. Playing this game gives you the feel that it was made solely with the fans of the series in mind. 

4) Aladdin (Sega Megadrive/Genesis, SNES) 

 

 

  Honestly, I've never watched Disney's Aladdin. So, I can't really critique the movie. The game, however, was amazing. Back in the day Disney was known for releasing great games based on their movies, and television series. This was mostly due to their their power duo with Capcom, and the fact that their games weren't being rushed to be released with the movie. There are tons of great Disney games developed by Capcom. Any avid retro gamer that hasn't checked them out should do so. But after reading this article, of course. 

 

  Now, Virgin released the copy for Sega Genesis/Megadrive. I never played that one so I won't talk about it. Instead I will be covering the SNES port. 

  Released in 1993, Disney's Aladdin had you playing the central character of the film, Aladdin, as he journeys to confront the evil magician Jafar. Fun as hell gameplay, crisp, fluid graphics, and plenty of bonus stages, and collectibles had me investing hours into this game when I was a kid. 

3) Super Star Wars series (SNES) 

 

  Remember a time when your could-never-do-wrong love of Star Wars was justified? A time before George Lucas would pretty much sneeze into a napkin, give it a Star Wars title, and throw it out there for cash? There is no better tribute to that golden age of nerdom than the Super Star Wars games. 

  Developed by Lucas Arts, and released on the SNES in 1992, Super Star Wars was a game that wasn't only fun because it featured out favorite characters from the films, but was just flat out fun. Allowing players to have an interactive experience in the films was something that typically wasn't an enjoyable one (looking at you Jaws), but Super Star Wars pulled it off seamlessly. I can't fully explain everything that was great about this game. You'll just have to check it out yourself. 

2) GoldenEye: 007 (N64) 

 

  I know you all probably saw this one coming, but whatever. This game holds a special place in my heart that no woman has ever come close to touching. I still count GoldenEye: 007 as one of my all time favorite FPSes. 

  Developed by Rare, and released on the Nintendo 64 in 1997, GoldenEye: 007 is arguably one of the best titles Rare ever developed. Don't get me wrong, the single player campaign was plenty of fun, but the whole reason this game made #2 on my list is because of the multiplayer. All you kids today who never knew competitive multiplayer before online gaming take a seat, and let Uncle Kenny tell you a story about a little novelty we used to call split screen. 

  See, we may not have had your fancy party chats, and gamertags. But what we did have was one TV, four controllers, and a string of insults that would be hurled from dusk til dawn. God help you if you picked Oddjob. You instantly became the most hated person in the room. GoldenEye: 007 holds some of my fondest memories from my youth with my friends, and for that alone puts it at #2. 

1) Chronicles of Riddick series (Xbox, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC) 

 

 

  This section is going to be separated into two sections. I loved these games so much that both deserve to be placed at #1, and both deserve the same amount of attention. 

  The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher's Bay was developed by Starbreeze Studios, and debuted on the Xbox, and PC in 2004. The game places the player in the role of the series anti-hero Richard B. Riddick; a bad ass criminal with superhuman night vision, and the supreme power of badassery. Not to mention his awesome as fuck signature weapons, the Ulak blades. 

  Mixing stealth, action/adventure, and first person elements Escape from Butcher's Bay is easily one of the best games that came out for the Xbox. The overall plot was pretty much a prison escape story, mixed with bad ass Vin Diesel lines, and maiming and destroying anyone dumb enough to get between you, and escape. 

   Back in 2009 Starbreeze Studios released a sequel to Butcher's Bay titled The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena. Maintaining the same mechanics of the original title, Assault on Dark Athena was instantly praised by critics. Taking off where Butcher's Bay left off, part of the game takes place with Riddick escaping a mercenary vessel known as Dark Athena, and the other part on the planet Aguerra Prime with Riddick escaping back to Dark Athena to escape an impending invasion. 

   As far as sequels go this game doesn't get nearly the attention it deserves, and that is why it shares the #1 spot with it's predecessor.